34. ADAC Rallye Deutschland 2016
18. 8. – 21. 8. 2016, Trier • asphalt 306.80 km • total distance including road sections - 1209.69 km • Other years
Info
SS18
"The result is perfect and I hope with Jan we get a 1-2 for Skoda. Okay. a bad start on Friday but yesterday was the best tarmac day of my career I think. I'm very proud of what we have achieved."
"It feels great, I was missing it [winning] a lot - it's been such a long time. I took the chance here, it's a really good result for the championship. A very exciting battle with Andreas, Thierry and Dani - we had to push to beat them. This win is for [departing team boss] Jost - I told him I'd do this for him!"
"That was close. I'm happy."
"Now we have to see what Dani does. It was a good run, quite clean, I felt comfortable. Thanks to the team - we can be pleased with this result."
"We lost the brakes completely."
"The result is okay - fifth is probably where we would have ended up without our problems. Okay, we have some work to do with our speed but it looks like a great team result this weekend."
"This stage was okay. The end of the rally, not so much to do. I just tried to enjoy it."
"I had a very good run - quite on the limit here. It's been a positive event for our tyres. I enjoy driving on Tarmac. Good learning and happy to be on the pace. All very positive for the future."
"I tried to push quite hard. It's difficult to say how I did in the cuts - some were quite nasty. It's easy to make a mistake."
"Not an easy weekend but we are here. The confidence is back and the Power Stage was good. My car just a little too low in the dirty sections but I'm happy. Thanks to the team for their work."
SS16
"I was hoping for rain, so I have a different strategy and four soft tyres. They were moving about a lot here and I had to be careful to look after them."
"Okay for us. We pushed a little bit more than the first stage - we try to control the gap. I'm looking forward to the finish line now, that's no secret."
"I'm really on the limit everywhere. It's hard for me to do much more than that. I think the two spare wheels are hindering me a bit. I can't drive quicker."
"Not the fastest stage for me - I didn't have a lot of confidence in the dirty places."
"I did a good stage but I could have been more on it in some places."
"Trying to continue working on what we did yesterday afternoon - learning some things for Corsica."
"We are just cruising. Nothing more to say."
"I pushed to the maximum to try and learn the car and the tyres. Quite a surprise to be so close [to the other times]. I'm happy with that."
"A good stage and I know I can improve for the second run. I'll be definitely pushing for full Power Stage points here this afternoon."
"Only the final two corners were damp. Everything was okay. We pushed more than the previous stage."
SS15
"Not such a great stage - I'm waiting for my co-driver to wake up. He has to."
"My pace notes are too fast. Not the same as yesterday."
"I'm on a different strategy than my team-mate - we have soft tyres all around. Maybe we will have rain later?"
"Very safe. Maybe too safe. My info said it was completely dry but it wasn't. It was a bit slippery."
"It's all fine. We have to push a bit more in the car and it will be okay."
"I did a good stage but I struggled with the feeling of the brakes towards the end - I'm trying some new pads."
"In some places it was wet and the tyres were hot. I enjoyed it though - I tried to do my best. I'm just focusing on my driving."
"A bit wide in the very last corner. Other than that okay."
"Some small damp patches to watch but no problems. I'm trying a new set-up. I have to get used to it."
"We took it very steady. No drama. Trying a few small things with the car, a few diff changes to find more confidence. They felt quite good."
"We had a small spin in a tight corner."
"Conditions are good - just some damp at the end. I enjoyed. Good to open the road because it's clean compared to yesterday."
SS14
"Okay, not by much, but it's difficult to take time here. I am happy to be third. I've enjoyed the fight and the car is perfect."
"It went wrong all the way - I struggled a lot. I didn't cool my brakes enough before the start so I knew it was going to be tough. I slowed down to protect them."
"An okay stage but I started understeering towards the end and lost my confidence."
" I'm a competitive guy but I have a lot to learn. I've learned a lot in today's conditions."
"I had to try something different, but in the forest sections it was hard to be confident with the lack of grip. I couldn't have done much more. It looks like the battle with Thierry will go tho the wire tomorrow."
"We had a different tyre choice to Andreas and I think we managed the softs pretty well. A clean stage. I hope this puts us in a comfortable position tomorrow but there are still 60km to go - and another tricky vineyard stage."
SS12
"When it's so slippery like this I think the Finns are more used to this! I overshoot a junction and stalled on the previous stage. It looks like Esapekka pushed hard here."
"It's good but I think my team-mate [Kopecky] will be faster - he's the one I'm watching."
"We're doing what we can against the factory drivers."
Unable to fix the alternator problem
"The bonnet is open on one corner and it was lifting like hell. I had to slow sown in many places to avoid a crash."
"It is completely wet now. At least we have the right tyres and I know what to expect."
SS10
"If you have no rubber you have to drive on the rims. We had no chance here."
"Quite bad. I was on full softs, I had info for rain but it was 98% dry."
"We lost the power steering 4km before the finish. The car was undriveable on these roads. We're lucky to be here."
"Mainly dry. We completely got our tyre decisions the wrong way round today. But in weather conditions like this it's always a 50
"I had a crossed tyre set-up - and that meant oversteer one corner then understeer the next. Not the perfect choice."
"Once again I was wrong with the tyre choice! It was drier than we expected. I did what I could with the tyres I had."
SS9
"We stalled the engine on the start line. The clutch has always felt strange on this rally. We lost three seconds minimum."
SS8
"Good weather because we have soft tyres. I want more rain."
"Okay, of course the rain has made it more slippery but no drama."
"I went off and lost five or six seconds in the grass. I braked too late and couldn't make the turn."
"It has started raining now not so easy. Very slippery, I took it easy."
SS7
"Difficult to find the right rhythm in there."
"I had a spin on this previous stage. In this one I couldn't attack. No feeling. Not so good."
"It's been a good morning the tyre choice was perfect, no mistakes, car is good. I had huge grip."
"We stopped in the stage and had to reverse. Our soft tyres had no grip. Terrible."
"A better stage. The confidence is growing. Even on mixed tyres I had a good feeling."
"Better than the first stage but my pace-notes weren't the best. I can lift my pace a little for the repeat."
"Can't say I'm happy [with the time] but we've been pushing really hard. Tricky. We had a good run."
"I lost a little time - not a lot - clipping a bale. A difficult stage. Wet in places and the car moves a lot on these hard tyres. I didn't drive very well."
"I went off under braking. A car in front pulled a lot of gravel on the road and I had no chance to slow down."
"No problems for me. I struggled for traction in the bumpy sections but other than that a good run."
"Difficult to get any confidence with three hard tyres. We're doing what we can."
"We went straight on at a junction and had to reverse. We pushed hard after that to recover the time loss. That's a shame but we are still in the fight."
"Not much drier here [than the previous stage] but we did a good job in tricky conditions. If Mikkelsen is slower then that's good news for me because he has the better tyres here."
SS6
"Not easy. We have two hard tyres and two softs and the conditions were worse than I expected. I expected dry. It took some time to find a good feeling."
"Good but not easy. That's life. I didn't push."
"Very, very difficult. I tried to push but I had two big moments - big slides - and they cost me time."
"Getting dirty in places. We didn't know what to expect in here. It was really tricky but we were safe."
"On hard tyres it was very difficult. I tried to do my best. Many corners were so dirty and slippery - more gravel than mud."
"Quite nice. A bit more slippery and some mud on the road - I like that."
"I went off into a field but I didn't lose much time, maybe two seconds. I'm on a cross tyre combination and maybe softs would have been better."
"We only have one soft tyre and we should have taken four. I can't afford to make any mistakes today so I took it nice and easy."
"I think soft was the correct choice but still it's hard to make a difference. He [Ogier] is cutting so much the road is covered in dirt."
"I have a mixed tyre choice, two soft and two hards, and it was the wrong choice. It was dry when I left service but now there is some rain. It won't be good for me."
SS5
"A very nice position. Some good times, some not so good. I'm looking forward to Panzerplatte tomorrow."
"That's good, and the car is okay. It's just a shame about the puncture earlier. Tomorrow we will do our best. If the weather is different if could change everything."
"I drove too cool - no risks and the time was no good. I need to go faster tomorrow."
"The tyres have performed really well today on a surface where we used to struggle. Now I'm waiting to see how we perform on Panzerplatte."
"A really fun stage. A lot of grip. A good afternoon. I am happy."
"I tried to improve today but it hasn't really gone in the right way. Tomorrow's military roads should suit me better."
"No problems here - just slightly wide on one chicane. Overall a good day. I'm looking forward to tomorrow but I must say it will be tricky. Seb will be fast there but we will try to fight."
"A nice, fast stage. A lot of spectators here - good to see. A good concept."
SS4
puncture
puncture and spin
stopped, rolled
"I'm disappointed after the puncture. Okay, the rally is long. We'll keep going and see what happens."
"A small technical problem from the engine. It is down a bit on the rev limiter - not a big problem I think. Just one stage to go today, then I can restart this rally again tomorrow."
"Not so good. I tried to push but I made a lot of mistakes."
"A very nice stage. I think we have lost the oil in one of our front dampers."
"Better. No problems this time through. A clean run with no risks."
"I spun in a very tight hairpin right. I lost, I guess, five seconds. The handbrake turn was nice but I caught a front wheel on the inside and that spun us around."
"After the day we've had we backed off here to get a clean run. Still learning, still a lot to improve."
"I did a good stage but I have to be patient with the set-up here. If I push too much I struggle with the understeer."
"l'm happy with my drive. For sure we are very clean, no moments. I'm not taking too many risks and at the moment it seems that Andreas and Thierry are faster."
SS3
puncture
"We lost time earlier with the puncture so this time doesn't solve anything. We continue to do our best and we will see, this is a long rally."
"Not so bad, but too slow through the last four kilometres where it was very tricky and slippery. I have to keep the car on the road."
"No spins this time so better than this morning. Not maximum attack but pretty okay. I don't have much experience in these conditions so I need to learn."
"I tried to push but it's very easy to make a mistake here. I think the next stage will be better."
"Tricky but drier than this morning. Okay, a lot of mud in the stage but the grip is better."
"I changed the car set-up in service and it took time to get used to it, but it's okay. I think I can go deeper in the cuts."
"A big moment - I was lucky to get away with it. "We were fast downhill in sixth and went off onto the grass - then back the other way, and back again. It's the biggest moment I've had and got away with. We are lucky to be here."
"A really good stage. Not bad for a Norwegian! Too careful near the end but overall I'm pleases. I was just under the limit, I'm really happy."
"Not such a bad stage for me - Mikkelsen must have driven quite well. The car is okay but I must be missing some speed. We have to find it."
SS2
"We lost the brakes for the last 5km - I had to slow. A good time but I think Lappi had problems. Just two stages done - a long way to go."
puncture
"A puncture. We lost a lot of time."
"I'm having no luck in WRC2 this year. We got a puncture - I don't know why. A stone maybe. Disaster."
changed puncture
"Not a normal morning. I don't know what's wrong. I spun twice in here and once on the stage before."
"There was no time for the tyres to cool down between these two stages. Difficult. A few wide moments. I can't push more."
"I don't have a good feeling - a little understeer all the time. I can't push like I want."
"A lot of issues. Something is wrong with the steering and the handbrake is not working. I'm quite disappointed."
"I slightly hit a stone by the road. Other that that okay. The beginning was not so good. I was pushing too much in the corner. After that I found a better rhythm."
"We locked-up braking in a downhill section. The rear stepped out and hit a drain. We'll be alright to get to service."
stopped
rear left puncture
"Not a good stage for me. A lot of mistakes so I'm not happy. Anyway, service next - a chance to reset, fit some fresh rims and let's go!"
"I did a mistake at the beginning. I missed a hairpin and had to go back. It cost me time but it's okay. For sure not a good stage."
engine problem?
SS1
stopped - crashed
Considerable front-end damage to his Citroen but mechanically all seems okay. "It happened in a slow section in the vines."
spin
stopped
"Hell, it's tricky."
"At least we are here. Two cars retired. I did a spin - but one 360 here is okay."
"I'm braking too early - stupid - I will try to push on the next one."
stopped
gearbox issue, retirement for today
"Extremely muddy at the end. The beginning was quite good. Very dirty and muddy in the forest - I couldn't carry any speed there."
"The road is very, very dirty already. After seven cars it's completely muddy. The time is not good but normal in these conditions."
"I made an early mistake and hit something - I think I have bent something at the rear."
"Horrible. Undriveable. I didn't feel comfortable at all. The time is not so bad considering the slippery road. I have no confidence, the car is moving all over the place. We have to get the car more precise."
"Very tricky conditions. All the cuts are mud - every time you touch the grass it's slippery. We had a big spin in the vineyards - I was a bit optimistic with one of my notes - I had to stop and turn around. That cost us about 20 sec."
"We touched a bank a little bit. We had a bad vibration after that. Everything is fine. The steering is fine."
"Some tricky sections in the forest. I was a little careful - not easy to find the rhythm."
stopped